So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city:
Parallel translations
- WEB Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying,
- KJV And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
- NKJV And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying:
- NASB So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the people of their city, saying,
- NLT and he went with his father, Hamor, to present this proposal to the leaders at the town gate.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hamor and Shechem go to the city gate to persuade the townsmen to accept the terms.
Overview
The city gate was the place of public assembly and decision. There the rulers commend the agreement to their people, using their authority to win consent. Their persuasion draws the whole community into a covenant they do not truly understand, with deadly consequences.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ruth 4:1Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
- Deut 17:5you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.
- Amos 5:10There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
- Gen 22:17I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- 2 Sam 15:2He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”
- Zech 8:16These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,
- Job 29:7When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square,
- Prov 31:23Her husband is known at the city gate, where he sits among the elders of the land.
- Gen 23:10Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. So in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham,
- Amos 5:12For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.
- Amos 5:15Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 34:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.